VANCOUVER, May 24, 2017 /CNW/ - TAG Oil Ltd. (the
"Company" or "TAG Oil") (TSX: TAO and OTCQX: TAOIF) is pleased to announce the successful drilling and flow testing of the
Cheal-E8 exploration well, which will now be tied-in to TAG Oil's existing infrastructure as a permanent producer.
The Cheal-E8 well was drilled on TAG Oil's 70% working interest and operated Cheal East permit (PEP 54877) in the Taranaki
Basin of New Zealand. The well was drilled and completed on time and on budget to a total
measured depth of over 2,000 meters. The primary objective of Cheal-E8 was to test the potential of the Urenui formation, with
the deeper Mt. Messenger formation as the secondary objective. Net pay of approximately 17 meters of Urenui sands and 4 meters of
Mt. Messenger sands was recorded.
Following the completion of the Urenui zone, Cheal-E8 naturally free flowed oil and gas on choke at an average rate of 318
boe/d over a four and a half day test. No water production was observed during the test.
The Mt. Messenger formation is also estimated to be commercial, and will be completed in the future.
The Company's next well will be Cheal-D1, which will also be drilled on the Cheal East permit. This is scheduled to spud
in July 2017. Construction of the Cheal-D well pad is currently underway and is proceeding on
schedule. The Cheal-D well pad is located near, and will be used to explore, the northern portion of the Cheal E permit.
Please click here to view a video summary of today's
release.
Toby Pierce, TAG Oil's CEO commented, "I am very pleased with the results of the first
exploration well at Cheal that TAG Oil has drilled in almost three years. Over that time, TAG Oil has focused on reducing its
commitments and stabilizing production from its existing fields while we managed through the period of lower oil prices. With the
recent $15 million raise completed in Q1 this year and stabilization of oil prices, we are now
looking forward to growing aggressively through the drill bit with at least five exploration wells planned over the next 12
months."
About TAG Oil Ltd.
TAG Oil Ltd. (http://www.tagoil.com/) is a
development-stage international oil and gas producer with established high netback production, development and exploration
assets, including production infrastructure in New Zealand and Australia. TAG Oil is poised for significant reserve and production growth with several oil and gas fields
under development and high-impact exploration in proven oil and gas fairways. TAG Oil is debt-free and currently has 85,282,252
shares outstanding.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Statements contained in this news release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that involve various
risks and uncertainty affecting the business of TAG Oil. Such statements can generally, but not always, be identified by words
such as "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "intends", "estimates", "forecasts", "schedules", "prepares", "potential" and similar
expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. All estimates and statements that
describe the Company's plans relating to operations, including the Cheal E permit, are forward-looking statements under
applicable securities laws and necessarily involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may vary materially from the
information provided in this release, and there is no representation by TAG Oil that the actual results realized in the future
will be the same in whole or in part as those presented herein.
Other factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements are also set
forth in filings that TAG Oil and its independent evaluator have made, including TAG Oil's most recently filed reports in
Canada under National Instrument 51-101, which can be found under TAG Oil's SEDAR profile at
www.sedar.com. TAG Oil undertakes no obligation, except as
otherwise required by law, to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or
opinions, or other factors change.
SOURCE TAG Oil Ltd.
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